4th Turkish child dies from avian influenza

William J. Kole, The Associated Press

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, January 16, 2006

ANKARA, Turkey -- A 12- year-old girl who was hastily buried by torchlight was infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu, authorities said Monday, the fourth Turkish child to die of the disease and the country's 20th human case.

Experts were awaiting the results of tests on three children hospitalized with symptoms in the western city of Istanbul. If it is established that the virus has gained a foothold there, it would bring the illness to the doorstep of Europe.

The latest fatality, Fatma Ozcan, died Sunday in the eastern city of Van but initially had tested negative for H5N1. The Health Ministry ordered new tests after her 5-year-old brother, Muhammet, tested positive, and officials said those confirmed that she was infected.

Carolyn Hax Media OS Playlist

Authorities rushed to bury Fatma on Sunday evening, wrapping her in a special body bag to contain any virus after a quick prayer beneath lighted torches at a snowy cemetery. She was from Dogubayazit -- the same town where three siblings died of bird flu about 10 days ago.

Her brother was being treated for fever and a lung infection, officials said.

As of Monday, 11 patients were hospitalized, all but one in stable condition, the ministry said.

Among Turkey's neighbors, Greece's health minister urged Greeks to avoid traveling to Turkey, and Syria said it had begun disinfecting people and vehicles at border crossings. A lawmaker in Russia, meanwhile, said his government would fly home more than 8,000 hajj pilgrims who had traveled to Mecca via Turkey to avoid further risk.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that bird flu might have already arrived in the neighboring countries of Georgia, Armenia, Iran and Syria and cited other countries, such as Bulgaria and Iraq, as at risk.

As Turks complaining of symptoms checked into hospitals, there were concerns that the virus might still be spreading despite the precautionary slaughter of 931,000 chickens, geese and turkeys.

At least 77 people in Asia have died since the virus surfaced there in 2003, the World Health Organization says.

Experts are concerned that the virus could mutate into a form that would spread easily among humans, triggering a pandemic capable of killing millions.